Hand held vacuum cleaners have a divided housing with an upper housing section holding a filter and a lower housing section holding a suction motor. A handle is connected to the upper housing section. The suction motor is mounted to and in the lower housing section. A suction tool is attachable to the lower housing section on the outside thereof by a suction coupling pipe section for transporting dirt carrying air into the upper housing section in which the filter separates the dirt from the suction air.
Various modifications in the arrangement of the above mentioned components are known in the art. When such vacuum cleaners are used, forces are applied to the vacuum tool e.g. when the vacuum tool is pushed against a piece of furniture or a wall. These forces are introduced into the lower housing section but the reaction force is applied through the handle secured to the upper housing section. As a result, any strain must be transmitted through the lower housing section more specifically through the connection between the upper and lower housing sections whereby a separation of the motor carrying lower housing section from the upper housing section is possible. This defect leaves room for improvement.